After moving to Whistler in 2001, Gillian Mitchell did her fair
share of monotonous jobs. By the time she was turning 26 Mitchell decided she
needed to focus on a career, but she did not want to leave Whistler.

That’s when she decided to enroll in the newly created
Destination Resort Management Diploma program at Capilano College in Squamish.

“I think I actually saw the program advertised in the Pique,
and I thought not only can I go to school and still call Whistler my home, but
I can take a program that will help me build a career in the industry that
makes Whistler what it is,” she said.

Two years later, Mitchell is part of the second graduating
class from the resort management program.

Fifteen graduates received their degrees on Thursday, Dec. 13
at the ceremony held at the Squamish Adventure Centre. Those attending the
event included Squamish Mayor Ian Sutherland, the program’s dean, and local
tourism industry personnel.

And four Whistler-area residents — Mitchell, Robyn Louwe, Marli
Anderson, and Sandy Nielsen — were among those receiving diplomas.

“I thought that I was so well versed with tourism and I knew
everything about it,” said Anderson, whose parents own the Adventure Ranch in
Pemberton.

“But then I took this program and it just helped refine so many
of the sections I didn’t really know about, like human resources, finance
management, party planning, and everything like that,” she said.

Anderson added that the diploma expanded her knowledge of
destination marketing, how to make a town more of a destination to tourists and
how to make it more sustainable.

“One of my favourite parts of the graduation is now we get to
move into a role where the students become colleagues,” said program convener
Stephanie Wells.

“I would say welcome to the graduates to the tourism industry,
and I look forward to working with them on a colleague basis as opposed to a
faculty-student role,” she added.

The Destination Resort Management Diploma is a 16-month program
launched three years ago that teaches students how to succeed in destination
resorts around the world. The students work with local businesses and organizations
such as Tourism Squamish to develop an understanding of the industry, as well
as complete a mandatory co-operative education component.

Of course with only three years running, the Destination Resort
Diploma program is still in its early stages.

Wells said the faculty is constantly tweaking the program to
make sure students are getting the skills they need to do well in the tourism
industry. She added that this year the faculty focused on offering students
more opportunities to work with tourism organizations throughout the Sea to Sky
corridor.

“When you run a program for the first time, the second year you
learn so much more,” said Wells.

“We were able to, as faculty, really sit down after that first
diploma and say, okay, where were the strengths, where did we have over laps
that we need to reduce, how can we get out into industry more.”

The Destination Resort Management diploma is just one of
several tourism and outdoor recreation programs offered at Capilano College.
Over 400 students are currently enrolled in the tourism department, and the
college was chosen as the host institution for the B.C. Centre for Tourism
Leadership and Innovation.